Category Archives: Welding Tricks and Tips For Steel

There’s a lot to know about welding if you want to professionally succeed in this career, and sometimes, not everything that you need to know is in the books. There are certain things about the craft that you only know about when you have spent a certain amount of time to it. Today, we are going to talk about tricks and tips for welding steel, and other metals, but the focus will mostly be on steel. Why? Because steel is the widely used kind of metal when it comes to welding.

Welding is very important in the progress of all countries. The process of welding is used in the construction of race cars, ships, computers, medical devices, Scooters, Cell Phones, Oil rigs, bridges, farm equipment, and even your simple MP3. There’s a high demand for welders all over the world, and even outside of the world – in space. It is now possible to construct space stations right then and there in the outer space.

So, here are a couple of tips if you are going to weld steel using the MIG process. You will need a good ground, a short stick out… You will need to adjust your welder setting on the right positions. You should also have a good technique to work around it and then you’ll be most likely ready.

Take note of these tips:

1/8″ material = .125 = 125 amperes

<< 1 ampere for every .001 thickness >>

The main point here really is to adjust the torch’s ampere’s according to what you are welding to be able to garner much better results. This is especially important if the metal you are welding is thin and can be easily damaged. You have to be extra careful about how you handle it.

Next before you begin welding, it would be best if you are able to check if everything is already in their places. Are you wearing all the safety equipment? Each one of these equipment is important and each play an important role in protecting you from harm. You should also go and check for any possible leakages from the gas tanks you have around your welding area, especially if you keep flammable gases there such as oxygen and nitrogen. You wouldn’t want an explosion suddenly happening there in your work place.

Speaking of explosions, you should also make sure that you have fire extinguishers within your reach. Putting automatic fire alarms and sprinklers around the premises would also be a bright idea. And don’t forget to provide emergency exits or strategies for your employee or co-workers. The safety of each and every is very important, and safety shouldn’t be taken for granted.

Make sure that you clean up or tidy up your welding site before you begin, and keep away easy to burn materials cause they might catch fire while you are welding and could again led to an explosion and injuries that you do not want. And since these metals that you are welding, may or may not have a chemical reaction with the heat or torch, but if they do have a reaction, they might emit poisonous fumes that are obviously not good for your health. You and your safety team should make sure that there are enough ventilation available in your welding area so that these fumes can be returned back into the atmosphere where they can be neutralized or transformed into some other form of matter or energy.

You should also clean up the steel metal you are going to be welding before you begin welding. See that little spot of rust? Make sure you clean it up because it can cause a deterioration of the quality of your finished product, which could dismay your buyer or boss. You should always make sure that your works are of high quality, because these satisfies the buyer, and strengthens trust between the two of you.

Oh, when you buy an anti-spatter spray, do not go for the expensive ones because they work perfectly in the same way as the cheap ones. You will be able to save money and spend it on some other things instead of buying an expensive one, with the same effects you can get at a product with a cheaper price.

Before you begin welding, make sure to check your surroundings. Do not stand near or on a body of water. Even if you adjust it with a low ampere or voltage, it could still electrocute you, and this is not something you want to happen. In cases like this, it would be a great idea to keep a first aid box around and the number of the nearest hospital in your speed dial.

Do not mix oxygen with acetylene because this can explode. There are a lot of safety precautions involved in welding that you should not forget. It would be great for you if you could read about the characteristics of the different gases so you would know what to do in certain circumstances.

Doing a welding with the use of steel for the first time will produce poor and these finished products do not usually take stress well so they easily break. No need to worry though, because this is a normal occurrence for all beginning welders, and with enough practice, you will sure be an expert in the craft in no time.

If you have finished your weld, be sure to cool the metal before you do another weld on it, or something. You can just leave it alone to air cool, but if you want a quicker process, all you will need is to submerge it in water. The water will absorb the heat from the metal surface, and when you take it out of the water, the heat will most likely be completely gone. I have to say this though, while this method is quicker, there’s a risk involved. Submerging steel in water can make it brittle – meaning it can easily break – so you have to think this over. If you are not really in a hurry, then it’s fine to let it just air dry.